unit35-facultyofmaritimestudiesrijeka.docVIP

Unit 35 AIDS TO NAVIGATION BUOYAGE SYSTEMS Basic terms ? aids to navigation - buoy ? spoil ground ? radar reflector ? ground tackle of a buoy ? buoyage system ? lateral system ? cardinal system ? Uniform Lateral System ? IALA = International Association of Lighthouse Authorities ? Sailing Directions ? Coast Pilots ? marks: cardinal m., lateral m., isolated danger m., safe water m., special m., topmark, pillar-shaped m., spar shaped m. Aids to NavigationAids to Navigation are placed along coasts and navigable waters as guides to mark safe water and to assist mariners in determining their position in relation to land and hidden dangers. Each aid to navigation is used to provide specific information.A navigational aid (also known as aid to navigation, ATON, or navaid) is any sort of marker which aids the traveler in navigation; the term is most commonly used to refer to nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, buoys, fog signals, and day beacons. According to the glossary of terms in the US Coast Guard Light list, an Aid to Navigation is any device external to a vessel or aircraft specifically intended to assist navigators in determining their position or safe course, or to warn them of dangers or obstructions to navigation. Several aids to navigation are usually used together to form a local aid to navigation system that helps the mariner follow natural and improved channels. Such aids to navigation also provide a continuous system of charted marks for coastal piloting. Individual aids to navigation are used to mark landfall from seaward, and to mark isolated dangers. Mariners must NOT rely on buoys alone for determining their position. Storms and wave action can cause buoys to move. ATONs in the US Unlike the roads and highways that we drive on, the waterways we go boating on do not have road signs that tell us our location, the route or distance to a destination, or of hazards along the way. Instead, the water